There are three main credit monitoring companies which are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion; they are also known as credit bureaus. These big 3 supply your credit report and FICO score to anyone requesting it who may be evaluating you for a loan, store card, credit card, auto finance or mortgage.
If you are turned down for any of these you will most likely be directed to these companies so you can find out what is causing the problem on your financial history and work to eliminate it and therefore improve your score and creditworthiness. It may be that this takes you by surprise especially if you always thought that you were in great financial standing so to save you desperately scrabbling around for their contact details here are the credit bureau phone numbers and contact information in one easy to access place.
Equifax
Phone number: 800-685-1111
Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
Experian
Phone number: 1 888 397 3742
Address: P.O. Box 9595, Allen, TX 75013-9595
Transunion
1 800 888 4213 for Free and Purchase Credit Report
1 800 916 8800 for Dispute item
1 888 909 8872 or 1 800 680 7289 for Fraud and Identity Theft
Credit Report – TransUnion 2 Baldwin Place P.O. Box 2000 Chester, PA 19022
Fraud and Identity Theft – TransUnion Fraud Victim Assistance Department P.O. Box 6790 Fullerton, CA 92834
Monitoring your credit report and FICO score can also be an early indicator of identity theft. If you see credit or finance applications on your report which you do not think were made by you, contact the companies concerned and do some investigating. Ask them to put a fraud alert report on your file which means that any company wanting to make an application will need to contact you first to confirm it’s genuine.
A yearly report is usually sufficient from each of the 3 main credit bureaus to maintain a check on your history but if you are in the process of making lots of financial applications and changes then you might want to sign up for a monthly service which will allow you to check as often as you wish. You are entitled to one free report annually but any other service will carry a charge.
If you lose your credit cards or suspect they might have been stolen, don’t forget to immediately inform your bank and have a stop put on all the cards. If you notice suspicious activity on your bank statements or receive strange post then these could all be indications that someone is using your identity.
If you discover that you have a poor credit report, do not despair as there are things you can do to improve your score. The best way to start will be to go through your credit reports with a fine tooth comb and note down anything that you think is inaccurate and challenge those by writing to the credit bureaus with proof. You will also be able to see if anyone else is affecting your score. Perhaps you used to live with someone with bad credit and made a joint application for something. This will leave a bad mark against you on your report but if you are no longer living with that person then you can challenge this and request that it be removed. This is where it pays to have the credit bureau phone numbers easily to hand.